Wrapped gut

Does anyone know if Kaplan Golden Spirals are currently available? A couple of us here in Milwaukee used them in the 60's. Also, are Pirastro Pizzicatos similar to the GS's? I haven't heard much about them. I know they're expensive, so that eliminates a casual tryout. I'm also wondering if any of the Velvets would be comparable?

the last i heard they stopped making golden spirals (i think due to mad cow worries). but labella makes goldentone d and g strings-you can get them at lemur. i have played both and they are both great.

The Pirastro Pizzicato G and D are available both as silverwound or nylon wound gut. The nylon wound are similar to the old Golden Spirals, with a little more tension. It's a pretty thick D string, but the Spiral was , too. I think Kaplan was bought by D'Addario who continued making the Golden Spirals for a while, but they've discontinued them.

The Velvet Garbo set has an interesting G and D. The G is some sort of nylon wound, and the D is wound with sort of a nylon/metal substance. These are fairly different than the Golden Spiral but a nice string nevertheless. Velvet doesn't sell them separately, though. The Garbo E and A are similar to their Anima set with a metal flat winding (more or less, it's not really smooth like Eudoxa, etc.)